Season 9

901: Chuffing with Pride

Race to the Rescue

Flynn is the Sodor Island Fire Engine and Victor is working on Flynn’s wheels so that he can roll on the road as well as on tracks. He sets out on the road, wobbling. Rocky tells Flynn that Sir Topham Hatt’s shed is on fire. Flynn goes on the tracks, even though the road is faster, because he doesn’t want to be a “big red wobble on wheels.” On the way to the shed, Flynn meets Butch and Bertie. They both need his help but Flynn chuffs on because he feels too silly to roll on the road.

Flynn is late because he should have used the road! The crowd around the shed cheers for Flynn as he puts out the fire.He returns to help Butch and Bertie. Flynn isn’t a “big red wobble on wheels”! He’s the hero of the day!

Learning Goals: Teamwork

Bust My Buffers

One day, Gordon is too snooty to notice some freight cars in front of him and crashes into them. Gordon’s buffer crashes onto the track and he loses his buffer. Den and Dart offer to help repair Gordon, but he insists that Diesels cannot fix Steamies, and he huffs away without his buffer.

Mavis and Salty tell Gordon that he needs a buffer. Reluctantly, Gordon chuffs back to Den and Dart and they fix him with a yellow and black diesel buffer. Gordon is very embarrassed by it. Thomas makes Gordon realize that he should be happy that he is fixed and can be a Really Useful Engine! Gordon says sorry and thank you to Den and Dart because they are all – Diesels or Steamies – Really Useful Engines!

902: All Together Now

Ol’ Wheezy Wobbles

On Misty Island, Ol’ Wheezy has stopped working. Thomas wants to help and says he can fix Ol’ Wheezy. He puffs to the Dieselworks and asks Den and Dart for help because two busy boilers are better than one. Den and Dart chuff back to Misty Island together and their drivers work on Ol’ Wheezy until he is fixed!

Learning Goals: Listening carefully; appreciating and accepting help

The Sounds of Sodor

Thomas is asked to take a Famous Composer around the Island and show him the sounds of Sodor to help inspire a new composition. Everywhere Thomas takes the composer, they are interrupted by noisy engines. This makes Thomas angry. However, unbeknownst to Thomas, the noisy engines are inspiring the Famous Composer to compose! Thomas fails to heed a warning sign and has to stop suddenly, making the composer’s music blow away in the wind. Thomas realizes his error and finds a unique way to reinterpret the composer’s music – by using his noisy friends to create The Sounds of Sodor!

903: If a Job’s Worth Doing

Thomas and the Garbage Train

Thomas volunteers to take the Duchess to tea. Diesel tells Thomas that his work with Whiff will make him too stinky to take the Duchess. As Whiff and Thomas puff along, Thomas uncouples from the Garbage train and Thomas takes ‘sweeter smelling’ tracks. Whiff struggles with the heavy train and has to stop on the track, causing Thomas to crash into Whiff. Garbage flies into the air and all over Thomas! Thomas is the stinkiest engine on Sodor! While Thomas cleans up the garbage, he gives Whiff the special job of taking the Duchess.

Sodor Surprise Day is a day in which people and engines surprise each other and make each other laugh. When Gordon declares Sodor Surprise Day to be silly, Thomas decides to show Gordon how much fun it can be, instead of doing his job. He surprises Gordon at the coal hopper, at a junction and then at the docks! But Thomas only succeeds in ruining the fireworks for the Surprise Day party and doesn’t do his job. Thomas then concentrates on doing his job and finds a fantastic alternative to the fireworks. No one is more surprised than Gordon!

904: Fun on the Farm

Thomas Toots the Crows

Farmer McColl is having trouble keeping crows from eating his seed. Thomas offers to use his whistle to scare them away. Soon, Thomas finds himself puffing all over the island chasing crows. At last, a very cross Farmer McColl finds Thomas. He shows Thomas that his field is even more full of hungry crows than before! It’s the one place Thomas was not scaring crows from! Thomas is very sorry. He sticks to the job and dutifully stays at his post all night long, successfully scaring crows!

Learning Goals: Following directions

Muddy Matters

When James is asked to take Farmer McColl’s sheep to the Sodor Farmer’s Fair, James is much more concerned with preserving his own cleanliness than following instructions. Due to James’ vanity, the sheep escape. James realizes that if he is to get the sheep to the fair, he must sacrifice the one thing that is most important to him. He must get dirty! James arrives at the fair with the sheep, job done and very muddy! But he makes it to the front page photograph for being the image of a Really Useful Engine!

905: Don’t Give Up

Percy and the Calliope

Percy and Diesel are instructed to take a rusty old organ – the calliope – to be melted down. Percy is determined to save it from this terrible fate. He pitches himself into a race against time to make the organ play before Percy and Diesel reach the Smelter’s Yard. Needless to say, Diesel is very unhelpful… After a number of failed and funny attempts, Percy discovers that the solution to making the calliope work is to use steam…the answer was in his funnel all along!

Learning Goals: Helping others

Happy Birthday Sir!

It is Sir Topham Hatt’s Birthday. He tells Thomas to take Winston, his new track vehicle, with him on his jobs. Sir Topham Hatt wants Winston to see what it’s like to be a Really Useful Engine. Salty and Edward tell Thomas and Winston that when Sir Topham Hatt was younger, he would would travel from station to station on his birthday in his favorite open top carriage, sharing birthday cake with the passengers on the platform. Thomas and Winston set off on his rounds. Winston trails off and Thomas is annoyed. Thomas makes Winston travel in front of him. Winston does so, but rolls along very slowly – looking left and right. Thomas bumps into the back of Winston and derails him! But Winston is excited! At last, Thomas lets Winston tell him that he has been looking for the open top carriage and he thinks he has found it.

906: A Friend in Need

The Monster of Brendam Docks

Percy is at Brendam Docks to pick up a new table and chairs for Dowager Hatt’s house. Fog rolls in. According to legend, that’s when the Monster of Brendam can be seen. Percy tells the other engines about the Monster and causes chaos around the island when the engines mistake each other for the Monster! Once back at Brendam Docks, Cranky reminds Percy that there is no such thing as the Monster of Brendam. He chuffs back to help his friends. Then, together, they come back to Brendam and there in the swirling fog, they see The Monster!! He’s tall and creaking!! It’s Cranky who is the Monster of Brendam and Salty’s joke!

Learning Goals: Demonstrating responsibility

Flash Bang Wallop

A photographer arrives on Sodor to take photographs of the engines for The Great Railways of Sodor book. Thomas is determined to be photographed more than Gordon and bursts his way into each photograph, not realizing Percy and James have become derailed. An angry Sir Topham Hatt arrives and tells Thomas about Percy and James being derailed and Thomas has to find a way to put everything right. It is late when they return to Tidmouth Sheds. Gordon boasts about how many photographs he thinks he was in. Thomas doesn’t mind. He knows it was more important to help his friends. When the photographer returns a few days later, Thomas is surprised and delighted to see a front cover photograph of his rescue mission.

907: Winter Surprise

Emily’s Winter Party Special

Emily is given the task of finding Sir Topham Hatt’s missing hat. If successful, she will be given the prestigious and coveted job of pulling the Winter Party Train. Emily is so busy boasting to the other engines, she completely forgets to look for the hat. By the time she realizes her mistake, night has fallen and Emily’s chances of finding anything have slipped away. Or so it seems…

Learning Goals: Being a good friend

Salty’s Surprise

It is winter holiday party time and Salty tells the other engines that he just likes a good story and not presents. Edward is still determined to find Salty a present. Edward finds all different kinds of presents for Salty, and Salty says thank you, but no to each present. Edward is worried. Then, Salty points out that Edward has given him a story – which is, for him, the best winter holiday present of all!

908: Communication

Welcome Stafford

Spencer is happy because he is asked to show the new shunting engine Stafford around the island. Stafford is an electric engine and runs on batteries. Victor tries to tell Spencer that batteries run out But Spencer thinks he knows all about batteries. He wants to show Stafford off to the Island and feel grand. Stafford tries to tell Spencer when his batteries are running out, but Spencer doesn’t listen. Spencer steams up to the Rescue Team, Bash, Dash and Ferdinand, and then the Duke and Duchess of Boxford. Each time, he finds that Stafford is not behind him anymore. Stafford’s battery has run out! He should have listened to Stafford. Later, when Spencer runs out of coal, it is Stafford who shunts Spencer all the way to Knapford Station!

Learning Goals: Helping others

Don’t Bother Victor

Mr. Percival leaves Peter Sam in charge to go to a meeting with Sir Topham Hatt. Mr. Percival tells Peter Sam not to bother Victor with little things. Sir Handel starts creaking and croaking, Skarloey’s funnel fumes and Duncan’s rods rattle…Peter Sam tries to fix them all himself instead of bothering Victor. Then Peter Sam runs out of coal and he hasn’t fixed the engines. He realizes that broken engines are not ‘little things’ and that he needs to tell Victor. Victor is happy to help. Everyone is fixed before Mr. Percival arrives!

909: Let it Snow

The Christmas Tree Express

Rheneas is very excited when he finds out that there are Christmas trees on Misty Island and wants to bring one back to the Blue Mountain Quarry before the other engines wake up. He asks Toby to take him to Misty Island. On Misty Island, Toby wants to travel slowly, but Rheneas is excited and in a hurry. He tells Toby to whirr his wheels faster and Toby does as Rheneas asks. Speeding along, Toby and Rheneas whoosh straight past some perfect Christmas trees. Rheneas realizes that he has been silly to rush. If they slow down, they can find the perfect tree. With the help of the Logging Locos, Toby and Rheneas take back the best tree of all to Rheneas’ Narrow Gauge friends!

Learning Goals: Cooperation; patience

Ho Ho Snowman

It’s winter time in Sodor and Charlie wants to show Henry that snow is fun. So, Charlie decides to hide behind a snowman. Each time Henry puffs past, Charlie pretends to be the snowman and tells Henry a joke. Henry is scared and steams quickly away, back to Tidmouth Sheds. Charlie is sorry that he made Henry scared. He realizes that not everyone likes the snow. Charlie sees what it is that makes Henry happy in the snow: quiet, natural things. Then, Charlie is thrilled when Henry asks him for a joke! And they both laugh and laugh…

Learning Goals: Being a good friend; understanding there are consequences to one’s actions

910: Just Being You

Express Coming Through

At Knapford Station, Dowager Hatt is having a welcome to Sodor party. Sir Topham Hatt asks Thomas to take the visitors on a tour of Sodor. Thomas asks the visitors to ride on the Express, but it’s too heavy for Thomas. He doesn’t want Gordon to see that he has to drop off passengers to make the Express lighter. To avoid Gordon, he leaves the visitors to enjoy “the Sights of Sodor” at the Quarry and in a field! Dowager Hatt realizes that the important visitors are missing and Gordon is sent to collect the visitors. But a job needs doing! The balloons have to be collected from the Docks for the party. Thomas is fast. He picks them up and proves that he is Really Useful, just in a different way than Gordon!

Learning Goals: Telling the truth and always being honest

Whiff’s Wish

Whiff is given the job of collecting trucks of garbage from across the island. Whiff hears Spencer being praised for his grandness. Whiff wishes that he, too, could be a grand engine, so he searches for opportunities to be grand. The tracks come to a standstill because Whiff’s garbage trucks have not been collected. Worried, Whiff crashes into a stationary Percy. Seeing Percy, who is only concerned about delivering the mail on time, Whiff realizes that there is nothing grander than doing your job well. So, he puffs away to collect the garbage trucks, just as he should have done.